Erika Girardiis facing another legal battle amid the ongoing issues surrounding her estranged husband,Tom Girardi.
Edelson PC accuses the defendants of the following: racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, receipt of stolen property, aiding and abetting concealment of stolen property, money had and received, conversion, unlawful business practice, consumers legal remedies act and deceit.
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“As the layers have been pulled back more and more each day withthe pending bankruptcies of Girardi Keese and Tom, and the torrent of claims and investigations that came in the wake of the firm’s collapse, the real story is one that seems like a tale out of a John Grisham novel: Girardi Keese was little more than a criminal enterprise, disguised as a law firm,” the lawsuit documents claim.
“Indeed, the Girardi Keese firm operated what we now know was the largest criminal racketeering enterprise in the history of plaintiffs' law,” the documents state. “All told, it stole more than $100 million dollars from the firm’s clients, co-counsel, vendors, and many others unfortunate enough to do business with the firm.”
Edelson PC claims that “every bit” of the firm’s “outward-facing success was built atop a house of cards,” alleging that Girardi & Keese “was siphoning off millions to fund Tom’s and Erika’s all-consuming need to spend — funding a lifestyle so lavish that Erika was a cast member ofThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
Erika and Tom Girardi.Steve Eichner/AP
Edelson PC also referred to the situation as a “scheme,” claiming that Erika “acted as the ‘frontwoman’ of the operation, selling to the world (including unsuspecting clients) that Girardi Keese was successful.” They also allege Erika “displayed a nationwide showroom of the money they stole onReal Housewives.”
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Erika Girardi.Amy Sussman/Getty
“We are, however, confident that we can prove that the law firm was operating as a criminal enterprise,” Edelson continued. “We understand that many of the people we have identified, including Erika and Tom’s partners, have focused on a campaign of lies, misinformation, and victim blaming. While those tactics can work fine on aRHOBHreunion show, it is a disaster in a court of law.”
PEOPLE has reached out to Erika’s attorney as well as Girardi & Keese for comment. Tom’s lawyer declined to comment.
Erika, 50,filed for divorcefrom Tom, 82, in November 2020 after more than two decades of marriage. Shortly after submitting her filing, the pair found themselves entangled in an abundance of legal woes, including a bankruptcy lawsuit.
source: people.com
